Who's Who in 'Lord of the Flies'? Quiz

Answer: Ralph

Ralph is the first character to be described in the book, and is the protagonist of the story. Ralph's physical description can tell the reader much about his character - many people see his fair hair as a sign that he acts fairly and is a 'good' character; his 'boxer' like appearence hints that he is both physically and mentally strong.

Answer: Jack

Jack uses face paints of clay and charcoal in order to camouflage his face whilst hunting for pigs. While this seems an intelligent idea, as the boys begin to wear masks they gradually lose their inhibitions and become wild, until the mask comes to represent savagery itself.

Answer: Simon

While one of the main themes in 'Lord of the Flies' is 'the darkness of man's heart', Simon is the only character to show no signs of evil. Simon has epilepsy, which people used to think was a sign of being 'touched' by God and being pure. Some readers see the time Simon spends in the glade as a parallel to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as yet untainted by original sin.

Answer: We never find out

The boy with the birthmark is the first boy on the island to die. Although it is not written outright, it becomes clear that he has been killed by the forest fire as he is never found again after the fire has burnt out and his disappearance is mentioned later on in the book.

Answer: Roger

While Roger does not emerge as a strong leader of the group, he is almost certainly the most brutal of the boys, with a love for causing pain in others merely for pain's sake. Golding reveals more of Roger's nature as the story continues, as we see his actions change from throwing small stones to miss (near the beginning) to pushing large boulders to hit (towards the end), which leads to Piggy's death.

Answer: Jack

Ralph and Jack are the two 'chief' figures on the island, but there can only ever be one leader if the boys are to form a peaceful society on the island. Jack's lust for power creates a rift between him and Ralph, which, although not serious during the beginning of their acquaintance, ultimately leads to Jack trying to murder Ralph.

Answer: Jack

This quote comes from when a group of 'big'uns' explore the island in order to find the beast, but happen to come across Castle Rock, which Jack later uses to house his rival tribe.

Answer: Bathing

At this point, the majority of the boys have joined Jack's tribe - Ralph and Piggy are left alone by the beach, and Ralph decides that there is nothing they can do but bathe and wait for it to rain.

Answer: We are not told

Jack is asking the boys to join his new tribe, as he does not agree with the way in which Ralph runs affairs on the island. We are not told who agrees to join, but by the next day the majority of the boys have sneaked off to join Jack's tribe, tempted by the promise of meat and protection from the beast.

Answer: Piggy

Piggy shouts out a series of questions shortly before he is murdered by Roger, in an effort to try to make the boys see how far the their morality has degraded; however, it is too late to make the boys see sense as they have evolved into savages by this time.